Episode 68

"Alright, that concludes the class for today."

Jang Yong-hwan, standing at the podium, looked unusually displeased today.

"Any questions?"

"He looks like he'd kill us if we said yes, doesn't he?" Han Seol whispered beside me.

"Yeah. Why is he acting like that? He's usually so dedicated to teaching."

"Maybe something bad happened to him?"

"Something bad..."

Now that I thought about it, something did feel familiar.

It seemed like there was definitely something that would irritate Jang Yong-hwan around this time.

The question was quickly resolved.

"Okay, everyone, pay attention!"

The back door burst open, and Deputy Director Choi Sung-cheol poked his head in with a smirk.

"The announcement is already up on the law school website, but since no one ever looks at that, I'm going to announce it again in person. Class is over, right? It's okay to announce it now?"

The last question was directed at Jang Yong-hwan.

Jang Yong-hwan didn't move an inch from the podium and answered with a reluctant tone.

"...Yes, it is."

"He says it is? Good, then everyone listen up."

Unlike Jang Yong-hwan, Choi Sung-cheol looked very cheerful.

"You all have a free period from 3 to 5 PM today, right? At that time, National Assembly Member Jung Seok-gyu will be coming to give a special lecture."

'Ah, so that's why.'

"The Assembly Member is an alumnus of Korea University's Law Department, the predecessor to our law school, so he's also your senior. Make sure everyone attends. Got it?"

The lecture hall became noisy.

"Jung Seok-gyu?"

"A National Assembly Member is coming to give a special lecture? Why...?"

It was quite unexpected news, so it wasn't strange to see such bewildered reactions.

It was true that National Assembly Members were people who worked in the organization that created the laws, and because of that, there were many who had worked in the legal profession.

If you just searched for current National Assembly Members who were former lawyers, judges, or prosecutors, you would find dozens.

In fact, among the past presidents, there were quite a few who were also from the legal profession, showing that the legal profession in Korea was inseparable from the political world.

However, the National Assembly Member Jung Seok-gyu, who was coming today, wasn't a legal professional.

It was true that he was an alumnus of Korea University's Law Department, but he was someone who had thrown himself into the student movement instead of taking the bar exam.

He had gained fame there and finally entered politics.

It was doubtful whether he was a suitable choice for a law school special lecture.

Moreover.

"Jung Seok-gyu... isn't that the guy who was in the news last year?"

Han Seol whispered.

"Why, the one who was embroiled in a controversy over his wife's land speculation..."

"Ahem!"

As if he had heard that, Choi Sung-cheol suddenly shouted.

"The Assembly Member is not that kind of person! He's someone who puts effort into social contribution and contributes to the country! Even this Second Law Building that you all are taking classes in was built with funds that the Assembly Member donated. You should be grateful!"

Choi Sung-cheol stomped his feet, making a thudding sound.

It was as if he was saying that even the floor was laid thanks to the Assembly Member's grace, so feel his presence.

"That's enough, Deputy Director."

Jang Yong-hwan, who couldn't stand it anymore, stopped him.

"It's true that Assembly Member Jung donated a large sum of money to our law school. But we're not a private educational institution, we're a national Graduate School of Law that bears the name of this country. It doesn't seem appropriate to highlight a specific sponsor like this."

"Tsk, that strictness of yours is the problem, Professor Jang."

Choi Sung-cheol clicked his tongue and then turned and left the lecture hall.

"Anyway, I've announced it? Everyone must attend. I'll also announce it in the group chat for each class through the student council, but I came here myself to make sure. Got it?"

Only Choi Sung-cheol's earnest request remained, sticking to the students' ears.

"...Everyone, you may leave now."

Jang Yong-hwan's expression, as he said that, was even more icy than before.

'Jung Seok-gyu is coming, huh.'

For me, it felt like what was coming had finally come.

National Assembly Member Jung Seok-gyu.

He was the mastermind behind the tragedy that would unfold at Korea University Law School.

And the name of the final boss who would fall tragically along with my family.

* * *

"Hey, are you going to the special lecture?"

"I don't know."

2:50 PM. Han Seol asked me as I was leisurely flipping through an exam book in the study room.

"Won't you be in trouble if you don't go? I've never seen the Deputy Director act so obsessively before."

"You'll actually be in trouble if you don't go. They'll probably be taking attendance, and they'll control the back door of the lecture hall so you can't leave in the middle."

That was what happened in the original story, so it was certain.

"Ugh. Why is he so serious about this, anyway?"

Han Seol shuddered.

"Well, it's because Jung Seok-gyu's power is needed to fulfill the Deputy Director's grand dream."

"Grand dream?"

"Yeah. He's hiding it from us, but the faculty is also quite a competitive political scene."

The balance of power among the professors at Korea University Law School was largely divided into two groups.

One was the Dean faction, centered around Dean Kang Chang-soo.

Professors Park Soo-geun and a Constitutional Court justice who had been there since the law department days were considered the representative Dean faction professors.

The other was the Deputy Director faction, consisting of professors who were close to Choi Sung-cheol.

They had rapidly increased their power as various reform plans that Choi Sung-cheol had pushed forward had been successful in succession.

The traditional Dean faction versus the achievement-based Deputy Director faction.

In that structure, it was the existence of National Assembly Member Jung Seok-gyu that had solidified Deputy Director Choi Sung-cheol's position.

"The donation from Jung Seok-gyu, Choi Sung-cheol worked hard to get that."

"Oh, is that so?"

"So, for Choi Sung-cheol to promote Jung Seok-gyu is the same as bragging about his own achievements."

It was only natural for Choi Sung-cheol to praise Jung Seok-gyu's donation. It was Choi Sung-cheol himself who had brought it in.

He was emphasizing, with all his might, that he was a person who had contributed that much to Korea University Law School.

"That's, um. How do I say this..."

"It's pathetic."

That one word from Lee Ha-roo, though vulgar, was the most appropriate summary.

"Well, anyway, I guess I have to go."

Jung Seok-gyu's special lecture.

This was also an episode that was in the original story.

It was also the place where our protagonist, Shin Seo-joon, and the final boss would meet for the first time.

Their ill-fated relationship was quite long and complicated, but today would be the first time they would actually see each other.

'I need to watch it with my own eyes... I have to.'

I knew all of the events that would unfold.

What Jung Seok-gyu was plotting, and how that would shake up Korea University Law School.

And.

'Even how it would lead to the downfall of our family.'

Putting aside any moral justifications, I absolutely refused to just sit back and be destroyed along with my family by being entangled with the final boss.

If I wanted to survive, I had to cut off the rotten rope that was Jung Seok-gyu somehow.

'But I can't take direct action at this stage.'

The opponent was a powerful figure who was walking at the center of political power.

Unless I secured sufficient evidence and the necessary instruments, no one would pay attention to what I said.

Right now, I needed to gather information and wait for the right moment.

"Then shouldn't we leave now? The special lecture is at the First Law Building."

Han Seol's point was very valid. We quickly packed our things and headed to the lecture hall where the special lecture was scheduled.

"Okay, write your names on the attendance sheet."

Sure enough, Choi Sung-cheol was at the entrance, checking the attendance of each student while holding a thick student roster.

"Han Seol, okay. Lee Ha-roo, okay... Park Yoo-seung. Yeah."

Choi Sung-cheol's face, which had been excited all day, crumpled the moment he called my name.

It really seemed like he hated me quite a bit.

Well, I had given him a hard time so many times, both before and after the transmigration, so it was even stranger that he wasn't hostile towards me.

"Just don't do anything that stands out today. Got it? Please."

Choi Sung-cheol's voice, as he spoke to me, was unusually subdued.

'Well, I'm not the one planning to do anything that stands out today.'

He was trying to keep the wrong person in check.

I didn't know what Choi Sung-cheol was imagining, but I had no intention of standing out today.

Even if something did happen, it was more likely to be the original protagonist, whom he trusted so much, who would cause the trouble.

I passed Choi Sung-cheol and gathered with my group at the back of the lecture hall, at a table in a corner.

The reason I had chosen this place wasn't anything special.

"...What are you doing now?"

Lee Ha-roo asked, seeing me pull something out from under the desk as soon as I sat down.

"Can't you see? It's a multiple-choice question book."

"What."

"You have to use your time wisely."

I had naturally brought this question book with me when I had left the study room.

Even if I was there to observe the movements of Jung Seok-gyu and Shin Seo-joon, it wasn't a task that required me to focus for the whole two hours.

This time was originally a regular free period. In other words, it was a precious self-study time.

As a student preparing for the bar exam, my ego protested with a sharp, pricking pain if I had to just throw it away.

"You're insane."

Lee Ha-roo, who seemed to be genuinely shocked, finally even forgot to use honorifics, but unfortunately, she had no allies here.

"Look to your right."

Lee Ha-roo's head turned slightly.

There, Han Seol was flipping through the pages of a casebook that had been edited to a handbook size, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Even my sister."

"This was originally a time for self-study... I felt uneasy not studying, so I had to."

"Right? I thought you would understand."

Lee Ha-roo covered her head and groaned as if she had seen terrifying monsters.

I checked a few answers, and by then, the clock was pointing at exactly 3:00 PM.

At the same time, I could hear the sound of someone talking on the other side of the closed lecture hall door.

"Ah, Assembly Member! You've worked hard to come all this way!"

"Haha. Why are you being so formal, Deputy Director Choi? Between us."

"It's an honor!"

'That's quite a suck-up.'

Choi Sung-cheol was flattering Jung Seok-gyu as if he was a National Assembly aide instead of the Deputy Director of the Law School.

Perhaps it was because he had spent a long time in the financial world, where business and networking were important.

"So, is this the lecture hall?"

"Yes, it is."

"Why aren't you doing it at the Second Law Building? The one I built."

"That place is already a place where the Assembly Member's grace is alive in every brick. Since you came all this way, you should leave your mark on the place that is the foundation of our law school."

"Haha, this guy is great with words!"

I could hear the sound of him laughing heartily, as if he was pleased.

'On the other side of this door is Jung Seok-gyu.'

A strange tension filled the air.

The worst villain that had darkened the latter half of my life's work, "In the Law School," stood on the other side of the door.

The people of this world still didn't know much about Jung Seok-gyu.

In the public eye, Jung Seok-gyu was a politician who worked hard and contributed to charities and volunteer work, but who was unlucky.

An unfortunate National Assembly Member who was always getting caught up in accidents caused by his acquaintances.

But every time, he had promised to prevent it from happening again and had continued to improve his image by taking more proactive measures, which was why he was also known as "The Phoenix Jung Seok-gyu" among his supporters.

They didn't know.

That most of the corruption, scandals, and accidents that were known to be caused by the people around him were actually committed by Jung Seok-gyu himself.

And that the truth was that he had been cutting ties in order to somehow cover it up.

He was someone who was very skilled in image-making and self-promotion, and he had managed to cover it up so far, but that was about to reach its limit.

That was the moment I had to aim for.

It wasn't time to step forward yet. Today, I was only going to watch the events that would unfold from the perspective of an observer and make my plans.

I had no intention of standing out, even if Choi Sung-cheol asked me not to.

Not even a little bit.

"......Oh?"

At that moment, the back door opened with a creak.

"Oh, who do we have here?"